MWC General Council

Mennonite World Conference will begin distributing money from a $950,000 Global Church Sharing Fund to African, Asian and Latin American churches this year. Each of the national conferences that belong to MWC outside of North America and Europe will receive at least $3,000. The size of the grants will be determined by how many members a conference has. The only requirement is that the money be used to advance the work of the church.

The bulk of the fund comes from a $600,000 gift from Mennonite Central Committee and a $300,000 gift from Mennonite Mutual Aid. The MWC General Council approved the distribution of the fund when it met before the Calcutta Assembly. The fund will be divided in the following way: $600,000 for distribution to Asian, African and Latin American churches; $95,000 for a Gifts Sharing Project, whose purpose is "exchanging human resources and strengthening relationships between member churches"; $200,000 to be placed in an endowment; and $55,000 for administration of the fund. The fund will be distributed in two phases, the first in 1997 and the second in 1999 or 2000. The second phase will begin after churches give reports on how the funds have been used.

The General Council also approved a statement of mutual expectations between MWC and Mennonite Central Committee. Mennonite World Conference is a global structure but has very little infrastructure. MCC has the infrastructure--"a network of staff and relationships . . . which can be offered as a resource to the global family of churches".

The General Council also elected a new president, Mesach Krisetya of Indonesia, and a new vice-president, Bedru Hussein of Ethiopia.

Paul Schrag

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